She said: “I believe that women should be ordained, I believe the theology on which that is based is pure codology.

“I’m not even going to be bothered arguing it. Sooner or later it’ll fall apart, fall asunder under its own dead weight.”

Mrs McAleese, who studied for a doctorate in Canon Law after concluding her two terms as president, questioned how the Church could include the voices of women in the formation of the Catholic faith if they are excluded from priesthood.

She argued: “The Catholic Church is one of the last great bastions of misogyny.

CRASH HORROR

'gentle soul'

Organisers then decided to move its Why Women Matter conference to a venue outside the Vatican.

In a strongly-worded speech, McAleese singled out Pope Francis, challenging him to “develop a credible strategy for the inclusion of women as equals” and added: “Pope Francis has said that “women are more important than men because the Church is a woman.

“Holy Father, why not ask women if they feel more important than men? I suspect many will answer that they experience the Church as a male bastion of patronising platitudes to which Pope Francis has added his quota.”